Andrew b



(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

M. WHELESS.

ELBGTRIG ARC LAMP.

No. 559,648. Patented May 5, 1896.

ANDREW B GRAHAM4 PHOTO-LFMQWASHKNGTOKD C 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented `May 5, 1896.

M. WHBLESS. ELECTRIC ARG LAMP (No'fMcu'e'L ANDREW ELHAHAM.PHDTOUMQWASHINGTOND C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MALONE IVIIELESS, OF IVASIIINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE IVI-IELESS ELECTRIC LAMP COMPANY,

OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,648, dated May 5,1896.

Application filed December '7, 1895. Serial No. 571,379. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MALONE WHELEss, of the city of IVashington, in theDistrict of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Electric-Arc Lamps, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to the feed and regulating devices ofelectric-arc lamps. The feed mechanism which I have represented in 1othe drawings accompanying this specification is modeled after thegeneral plan illustrated in my Patents Nos. 548,682 and 548,683, ofOctober 29, 1895. I have devised an improvement in the counterweight ofmy Patent No.

548,683 for lightening the strain on the devices which lift the positivecarbon. I have also devised a form and arrangement of regulator designedparticularly for use in a series lamp, so called, by which the lamp zois made more sensitive and quick to respond to variations in thepotential of the current and is enabled more quickly and with greatercertainty to adapt and adjust itself to such changes.

My improvements will first be described by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, and will then be more specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional side 3o elevation of a lampembodying my invention.

Fig.' 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same in a planeat right angles to the plane of section in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlargedperspective view of the counter-weight arrangement. Fig. 4 is across-sect-ion showing a top plan of the counterweight arrangement. Fig.5 is a diagram of the circuit connections of the lamp.

rThe arc or light-giving part of the lamp is 4o inclosed in a globe A ofany suitable kind.

That shown in the drawings is of the same general type as that of thewell-known Pinsch lamp, now so generally in use on railway-cars, thelower part of the globe, made of glass or 4 5 other translucent ortransparent material, be-

ing hinged on a horizontal axis to a metallic dome, in which is anoutwardly-opening reliefvalve a to give vent to the heated and expandedair. The feed-regulating works of the lamp 5o extend down through thisdome. These works consist in the main of the central tubularcarbon-holder B for the upper movable and positive carbon X, the twosolenoids C, the tubular stems c, and the rods d, vertically movable insaid stems, attached at their upper ends Ato the cores of the solenoidsand at their lower ends to opposite ends of the yoke or cross-bar c,provided with a central hub or sleeve c, fitting and vertically movableon the uppercarbon holder B. The yoke, by links f, is attached to thearms of gripping-cams g, pivoted in a sleeve g@ fitting and verticallymovable upon the carbon-holder and adapted to work through slots b inthe carbon-holder against the carbon X therein. Stop-rings 7L, one aboveand one below the sleeve g and adjustable upon the carbon-holder B,limit the extent to which the sleeve can move up and down thereon.

At the lower end of the positive-carbon holder is a disk e' of asbestosor other refractory material to shield the works from the heat and fromcarbon deposit.

Thus far there is nothing new in the lamp over the lamps of my aforesaidpatents.

The works above the globe A are surrounded by a ventilated case or shellD, attached to and surmounted by a cap E.

The stems c are attached at their upper ends to the spools of thesolenoids C and at their lower ends to insulated bossesj tothe dome ofglobe A. The solenoids at their upper ends are suspended from thelamp-cap E by rods 7c, and thus the globe and all parts of the lamp aresupported from said cap. The current enters and passes out from the lampby the hooks F for suspending the lamp. An ordinary manually-operatedswitch G is provided in the cap, by which the lamp can be cut outwhenever desired and the current sent direct from one hook to the other.

In my Letters Patent No. 548,683 I describe and claim a counterweightwhich is jointed both to the dome of the globe and to the cross-bar oryoke c. I employ this same general plan in my present lamp, but somodify it that the weight can shift so as to increase or decrease itsleverage. To this end the weight is made in the form of a roller or thelike, which is mounted on and free to move'along a track that can betilted, so as to cause the roller to move thereon in one di- IOC)reetion or the other at pleasure. I make use, in the present instance,of two such rolling weights, (shown plainly at ZZ, FiO. 3,) having theform of flanged rollers, each of which runs on and is held in a track m,which is embraced by its flanges. The two tracks are fast to across-piece n, the whole forming a track-f rame, pivoted at 0 to asuitable bracket or hanger attached to and depending from the dome ofthe globe A, as seen in Fig. 2. From the track-frame project forward twosteady-arms p beneath the yoke e, one on each side of the central hub orsleeve c. One of these arms p is confined between the adjoining end ofthe yoke e above and an anglepiece c2, attached to the yoke and providedat its lower end with a bent portion, which extends under the arm p, asseen plainly in Fig. This is the joint between the counterweighttrack-frame and the yoke c by which the frame is caused to tilt upon itsaxis or pivot 0. rlhe angle-piece c2 is made vertically adjustable, sothat it may be so set as not to cramp or bind the arm p. Under thisarrangement, when the cross-bar or yoke c is drawn up the track-framewill be caused to tilt outwardly and downwardly, and the rollerweightswill consequently run to the outer end of the frame, and by thisincrease of leverage will relieve the solenoid-rods d of much of thestrain of lifting. 0n the other hand, when the yoke e, after rising,starts to descend for any cause then the track-frame will tilt in theopposite direction and the roller-weights will run inwardly, thusdecreasing the resistance of the counterweight to the descent of theyoke. In practice, and while the lamp is running, the roller-weightsrarely, if ever, traverse the full extent of their tracks, but remainsomewhat centrally located therein, moving slightly back and forthaccording to the iiuctuations of the lamp and the consequent movement ofthe feedregulating mechanism. By this provision of a shiftingcounterweight the mechanism is made more sensitive as well as moreaccurate in operation.

The next feature of my improvements is designed more particularly for aseries lamp, so called, and is designed to take care of and correct theeffects which might otherwise manifest themselves in the lamp due toirregularities in the potential of the current. The means employed by mefor this purpose consi sts of a magnet, termed by me theregulator-magnet,77 preferably of the solenoid type, which controls theaction of an armature-lever for closing a shunt around the are wheneverthe potential of the current materially rises above or falls below thenormal, thus deenergizing the main or feed solenoids of the lampsufliciently to permit the feed to drop and the positive or movablecarbon toreadjust itself. This magnet is shown at II. Thearmature-levercontrolled byit is shown at H. The lever (pivoted at l) isattached at one end to the core 2 of the solenoid H, and at the other,

end it carries an insulated contact 3, which plays between twostationary contacts 4 5. The lower carbon of the lamp is shown at Y,held by any suitable holder Y.

The circuit connections (referring to Fig. 5) are as follows: Enteringthe lamp at the pole the current passes by wire G through the twofeed-solenoids C in succession, thence through the coarse winding of theregulatorsolenoid, and thence to the positive carbon X, the negativecarbon Y, and out from the lamp by wire 7. This is the normal or arccircuit. The fin e-wire winding of the regulator-1nagnet H is connectedup in the arc-circuit by wire S. Vhen the lamp is in normal operation,the current is largely through the coarse winding of theregulator-magnet, and the power thus developed 'is sufficient to holdthe armaturelever in a position where its contact 3 will be about midwaybetween and out of connection with the stationary contacts i- 5. Underthese conditions but little current will pass through the fine-wirehigh-resistance winding; but if the voltage or potential of the currentbe increased for any cause-as, for instance, by the cutting of severalother lamps into the circuit-then current will be forced through thefine-wire winding by the consequent increase in voltage, thus increasingthe power of the magnet and causing it to pull the armature-lever fromits central position into one in which it will approach and finallycontact with the lower fixed contact 5. On the other hand, decrease fromany cause in the potential of the current will decrease the power of theregulator-solenoid H and permit its core to drop, with the effect oftilting the armature-lever up toward and in contact with the upper fixedcontact 4. A spring s, attached to the outer end of the armature-leverand adjustable as to tension by a set-screw 3', serves to steady thelever and to assure the accurate action of the parts.

The contacts 3 i 5 are in a shunt around the arc, the feed-solenoids,and regulator-inagnet. This shunt consists of a wire 5'), which leadsfrom the -lbinding-post of the lamp to the movable contact 3, and of twowires l() ll, one of which leads from one fixed contact #l and the otherof which leads from the other fixed contact 5 to the binding-post of thelamp. Thus whichever contact el or 5 is met by the movable contact 3 ashunt will be formed around the arc and the feed-magnets. The

result is that whenever, by reason of undue increase or decrease in thevoltage of the circuit, the contact 3 is caused to meet contact 4- or 5,as the case may be, the feed-solenoids C will be short-circuited, andthe feed mech` anism will permit the movable carbon X to drop; but asthe latter drops the resistance `of the arc, and consequently thevoltage of the circuit, is diminished, more current flows through thefeed-solenoids, the feed mechanism is again active, and at the same timethe regulatorunagnet takes on its normal condition. Indeed, so quick isthe action Of the IOO IIO

parts in practice that the short-circuiting due to the regulator-magnetis momentarily only, and the movable carbon is caught and held before itdescends to the full extent, so that there is no suppression, evenmomentary, of the are, but the only Visible effect is a slightfluctuation in the latter.

In the wire 9, forming part of the circuit around the arc, I introduce aresistance-coil R, so adjusted that it will permit the passage only ofcurrent enough to weaken the feedsolenoids sufficiently to allow thefeed mechanism to descend. In this way I avoid sending over the shuntthe whole current, which if it should be permitted to pass that waywould injure and speedily burn out the contacts 3 4 5. By using thisregulating mechanism I am enabled to employ single-wound solenoids asfeed-solenoids instead of the differentially-wound solenoids, which atpresent are so extensively used.

In lieu of the pair of feed-solenoids and their adjuncts I may use asingle feed-solen oid, as in my Letters Patent No. 549,083, of October29, 1895.

Having described my improvements and the best way now known to me ofcarrying the same into effect, I state in conclusion that I do notrestrict myself narrowly to the details liereinbefore set forth inillustration of my invention; but

'What I claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isas follows:

l. In an electric-arc lamp and in combina tion with the carbon-feedmechanism, a counterweight-track, a counterweight freely movable thereonand connections whereby said track is tilted in one direction or theother according to the direction of movement of the feed mechanism,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of the feed-yoke, the cap or dome, thecounterweight-track jointed to both the dome an d the yoke, and thecounterweight carried by and freely movable on said track, substantiallyas and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

The feed magnet or magnets included in the arc-circuit of the lamp andthe feed mechanism controlled thereby in combination with theregulator-magnet included also in said circuit, a shunt or short circuitaround the are, and the feed an d regulator magnets, completed througheither one of two fixed contacts, and a contact controlled by thearmature of the regulator-magnet for closing the shunt-circuit throughone or the other of the two xed contacts according as the potential ofthe arc-circuit materially exceeds or falls below normal, substantiallyas and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

4. The feed magnet or magnets included in the arc-circuit of the lampand the feed mechanism controlled thereby; the regulator-magnet includedalso in said circuit and provided with two windings-a fine and a coursewindingconnected up in the circuit as hereinbefore described; anarmature-lever carrying a contact and controlled by theregulator-magnet, a shunt or short circuit around the feed and regulatormagnets and the arc, completed through either one of two fixed contactswith one or the other of which the movable contact controlled by theregulator-magnet contacts according as, and only when, the potential ofthe arc-circuit materially exceeds or falls below normal-these partsbeing combined and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore setforth.

5. The combination with the feed magnet or magnets in the arc-circuitand feed mechanism controlled thereby, of the regulator-magnet, thearmature -lever controlled thereby carrying the movable contact 3, theshunt or short circuit around the arc and feed and regulator magnets;the fixed contacts 4, 5, in said shunt, between which the movablecontact 3 is located, the adjustable spring s and circuit connectionssubstantially as described for the feed and regulator magnets, wherebywhen the lamp is in operation at the normal voltage or potential forwhich it is designed, the contact 3 will be held out of contact withboth contacts 4, 5, but whenever that voltage materially exceeds, orfalls below, normal, then the contact 3 will complete the shunt or shortcircuit through one or the other of the two contacts 4, 5, as the casemay be, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day ofDecember, 1895.

MALONE WHELESS.

IVitnesses:

F. B. KEEFER, EwELL A. DICK.

IOO

